Punjab to generate 150 Mw from cooperative sugar mill

In order to revive nine "ailing" co-operative sugar mills in the state, the Punjab government has decided to make them new centre of alternate power generation besides producing sugar and allied products, most importantly to save the jobs of thousands of employees of these sugar mills.

According to an official spokesman, nine sugar mills including Ajnala, Batala, Bhogpur, Budhewal, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Morinda, Nakodar and Nawanshahr (Distt Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar) would collectively generate 150 Mw power besides producing power/ steam to run these sugar mills.

The spokesman said that the concerned Cooperative Sugar Mills have signed MoU with various private companies who would setup cogeneration power plants in these mills, and sugar mills will get due percentage from the sale of electricity by the private party to the third party. The private parties would also provide free electricity and steam to sugar mills for their crushing operations, in lieu of bagasse and condensate water received from the sugar mills.

The spokesman said that cogeneration plants generating 150 Mw electricity would be set up in these mills by these private parties, that would belong to sugar mills after boot period free of cost, in running condition. These plants are expected to become operational by the month of September, 2010.

He said in the case of Bhogpur, in addition to electricity producing unit, the private party is bound to set up sugar mills of 5500 TCD(tonnes crushing per day) capacity, in place of the existing obsolete unit of 1036 TCD. He said that most important feature of this arrangement was that crushing capacity of the nine sugar mills, that was presently 15766 TCD, would be increased to 22950 TCD, that too with the investment of private parties.

He revealed that after the setting up of co-generation plants, the State government was also contemplating to make the three cooperative sector distilleries operational in next phase.